The estate of James Baccus has been awarded $25.2 million by a Philadelphia jury for exposure to asbestos which occurred while the deceased man was an employee at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and other facilities that used asbestos-containing products.
According to an article posted on Law.com, Baccus’ estate will receive $7 million in compensatory damages and $18.2 million in punitive damages. Baccus’ case was one of three that were bundled together, but the others settled after the compensatory damages stage of the case. Those settlements are confidential.
James Baccus, who has since died of malignant mesothelioma, allegedly worked with asbestos while he served in the U.S. Navy at the Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, making the case relevant to this jurisdiction, said his attorney Benjamin Shein. The majority of his injuries, however, allegedly occurred in Kentucky, where his family now lives, and he once worked for American Synthetic Rubber, according to Shein.
His case, Baccus v. Crane Co., was brought against the Crane Co., John Crane and Yarway, a company. The $7 million is to be paid by John Crane and Crane Company while the $18.2 million in punitive damages will be split as $11.9 million in punitive damages against Crane Co. and $6.3 million against Yarway.
The jury found Yarway and Crane Co. “grossly negligent for failure to warn of the dangers of asbestos in reckless disregard of the safety of others,” Shein said.
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